She contemplated an alliance with Spain, a state quite outside the orbit of Sweden's influence, the firstfruits of which were to have been an invasion of Portugal.
The tax probably originated in a tribute levied by a conqueror or ruler upon his subjects, and perhaps the custom of dedicating a tenth of the spoils of war to the gods led to the religious extension of the term, the original offerings to deity being "firstfruits."
Such a tithe is still nothing more than the old offering of "firstfruits" (bikkurim) made definite as regards quantity, and it was only natural that as time went on there should be some fixed standard of the due amount of the annual sacred tribute.'
The word translated "firstfruits" in Deut.
A triennial sacrificial tithe is inconceivable when it is remembered that the tithe is only an extension of the firstfruits.